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2006 Lamborghini Gallardo - Review

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Envy, greed, avarice,
lust. There’s something sinful about Lamborghini’s latest, the Gallardo Spider.
Actually a lot of things, and we could probably add a few new ones to the
classic list of the seven deadly sins. But as you pull the top down on this
impossibly angular little roadster, you know you’re going to enjoy experiencing
them all.

We took
delivery of a bright orange Spider on what proved, mercifully, to be the first
warm day of
Detroit ’s
short spring. After a quick briefing, we plopped into the roadster’s comfortably
enveloping seats and hit the “Start” button. The roar of the Lambo’s 5.0-liter
V-10 was enough to turn heads at the other end of the dealer’s parking lot.
Within moments, a crowd had surrounded the car.

“Rev it up, rev it up,” several of
the onlookers asked, but we were more interested in seeing how Lamborghini
engineers solved the problem of folding away the roadster’s canvas top. With the
push of a second button, an electro-hydraulic system surged into action. A panel
in the Spider’s long rear deck lifted up, while the top itself twisted and
folded like soft pasta. Twenty seconds later, we were ready to run, and now it
was time to give the crowd what they wanted.

Slipping the transmission into
first, we tipped in the throttle.
The crowd’s reaction was involuntary, everyone flinching and stepping
back as the engine roared like a Formula One racer. Releasing the clutch, the
Spider shot forward, nearing 60 before we reached the end of the parking
lot.

As we learned over the next few
days, the Gallardo Spider makes high-speed driving seem simple. Driving slow was
the challenge. Slip into second, even with your foot off the throttle, and the
two-seater will cruise along at close to 40. Better keep the number of a good
traffic attorney close at hand. You’re likely to need it —
often.

But we’re getting a bit ahead of
the story.

Modest
numbers

In the first 40 years of its
existence, Lamborghini produced barely 2000 automobiles. Operations at the
automaker’s assembly plant, in the Modenese suburb of Sant’Agata Bolognese, went
along at a glacial pace — not surprising, when your only product is something
along the lines of the $250,000 Murciélago.

But things began to change when
Audi acquired the Italian automaker in 1998. The German carmaker, itself a
subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, had some big ideas for the little sports-car
manufacturer. And they came to life in the form of a product originally
codenamed the LB-140. “We’re putting all our bets on this car,” explained former
chief executive, Dr. Giuseppe Greco, when he gave TheCarConnection.com its first
look at the Gallardo.

At $175,000, the coupe still
qualifies as “exotic,” but since its introduction, barely two years ago, the
Gallardo has more than doubled the number of cars the automaker has sold since
its founding by Ferruccio Lamborghini. The $200,000 roadster is likely to only
enhance that appeal.

Eye
candy

It isn’t easy to design a
Lamborghini. Since its earliest days, the Italian automaker has earned a
reputation for over-the-top styling with products like the Countach, Diablo, and
Murciélago. Though the Gallardo gives up the trademark gullwing doors found on
those flagship models, its lineage is unmistakable. In the form of a top-down
Spider, it’s low and squat, looking more like a GT-P race car than something
you’d expect to find on the street. It’s all angles, edges, and louvers, with
the cockpit pulled so far forward you almost expect your feet to stick out into
traffic. But you need that big rear deck to cover the heart-and-soul of the
roadster.

For the Spider, Lamborghini
engineers beefed up the already brawny 5.0-liter engine, which originally
produced “only” 493 horsepower. It now pumps out a blistering 520 hp, and 510
pound-feet of torque. In classic, Lamborghini form, that power is directed to
all four wheels so, with those four huge hunks of rubber, it’s almost impossible
to spin a burnout.

Like a racehorse eager to run, our
cabriolet seemed almost belligerent as we wove through afternoon traffic,
heading for some open pavement. Finally, with rush-hour gridlock well behind us,
and now police in sight, it was time to open things up.

Our test car boasted a six-speed,
short-throw manual gearbox. The transmission took some getting used to, for with
its tight gates, it was initially easy to miss a gear. For those who prefer to
avoid the learning curve, there’s a six-speed automatic available with optional
paddle shifters.

The big engine is actually a
little less impressive than you might expect when you first slam down the
throttle. It delivers solid, but not overwhelming 0-60 times of 4.3 seconds.

The roadster really comes to life
as you start approaching 3000 rpm. Once that happens, you’ll be working the
gearbox in a hurry. We found ourselves blasting through 100 before we knew it,
and decided not to see how much past 140 we could take the car on a public
highway. The Spider can reportedly nip 190 mph — with the top down. Up, you’ll
touch 195.

A tight
grip

Bringing speeds down a bit, we
felt a surge of adrenaline as another car suddenly appeared in our mirror.
Busted? No, it was a Corvette Z06 looking for a little action. We slowed down
just enough to let it gain on the Spider, but each time the ’Vette started to
pull alongside, we dropped down a gear, hit the throttle and left it slipping
back in the rearview. After three or four tries, the visibly frustrated Corvette
driver dove off for an exit. Lust or hate? Probably a bit of
both.

Even at balls-out speeds, the
Gallardo feels completely in balance, in large part thanks to its
all-wheel-drive system. The Spider’s steering is tight, precise, but if you’re
used to muscling around something a little less exotic, it might seem a bit
twitchy.

The huge brakes are another plus.
They’ll scrub off speed as fast as you’ve built it up.

Lamborghini did more than just cut
the top off the Gallardo coupe. It made significant structural changes to
enhance the Spider’s rigidity. The space frame was reinforced around the sills,
for one thing, as well as the A-pillars. To enhance safety, Lambo also developed
a pop-up roll bar system linked to the airbags.

Another nice touch is the
motorized rear glass. Even with the top up, you can lower the window for a
little fresh air, and it’s a great way to hear yourself running through the
gears.

Audi
clone?

While Lamborghini’s distinctive
design has traditionally extended into the interior, older models have tended to
cut some corners. The cockpit of the Gallardo — coupe and roadster — is a much
more refined affair. Fits are tight, and materials are elegantly in keeping with
the car’s big-buck ticket price. But don’t be surprised if you have a flash of
déjà vu.

Italian product planners had to
create a good business case before German management would approve the Gallardo
program. So while the primary gauges and toggle switches are distinctly
Lamborghini, the center stack — the climate and audio controls, as well as the
large navigation screen — were unabashedly borrowed from the Audi catalogue.

It’s not a bad model to clone,
considering virtually everyone views Audi as the benchmark of automotive
interiors. But a little more differentiation wouldn’t be
bad.

That said, it’s hard to find much
to fault with the Gallardo Spider. It’s not only fast and furious, but an
absolute blast to look at. It’s got a level of refinement and quality that we’d
have never expected from Lamborghini in its quirky past.

The cabriolet isn’t for everyone,
even those who might have the bank book to afford one. This isn’t a car likely
to blend into traffic. And you’re likely to have the cops following close
behind, waiting to write an easy ticket. But for those who like to live on the
edge, and who don’t mind sinning a bit, you might want to go looking for the
nearest Lamborghini dealer.

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